Sorry To Bother You

July 24, 2018

Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), a black 30-something telemarketer with self-esteem issues, discovers a magical selling power living inside of him. Suddenly he’s rising up the ranks to the elite team of his company, which sells heinous products and services. The upswing in Cassius’s career raises serious red flags with his brilliant girlfriend, Detroit (Tessa Thompson), a sign-twirling gallery artist who is secretly a part of a Banksy-style collective called Left Eye. But the unimaginable hits the fan when Cassius meets the company’s cocaine-snorting, orgy-hosting, obnoxious, and relentlessly optimistic CEO, Steve Lift (Armie Hammer).

Bursting with wit and originality, writer/director Boots Riley pulls no punches in this immensely intelligent comedy about overcoming your perception of your own powers of persuasion. With pitch-perfect performances by a stellar cast, a super funky soundtrack (which Riley contributes to), plus a score by Tune-Yards, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU is a sparkling debut feature that surfs a macabre universe with a disturbing likeness to our own.

“A pro-union, anti-corporate, race-conscious, Silicon Valley side-eyeing tale of one man’s journey through the late-capitalist nightmare of an “alternate present” version of Oakland, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU’s greatest asset is the strength of its conviction, and how far it’s willing to go to make sure it stays burned in your brain.” —Emily Yoshida, Vulture “Coonery, buffoonery, toxic masculinity, feminism, identity, and Black Lives Matter are among the many themes tackled in Boots Riley’s directorial debut film. Think of this as an avant-garde, dystopian, social satire that uses racial dynamics in the workplace as a catalyst for exploring how people of color navigate within an oppressive system.” —Valerie Complex, Odyssey